Battery filling well



March 24, 1942. WRLQRMOR' 2,27?,239

BATTERY FILLING WELL Filed Feb. 16, 1940 I INVENTOR fismer M loenoe ATTORNEYfi Patented Mar. 24, 1942 BATTERY FILLING WELL Henry W. Lormor, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, as-

signor to Willard Storage Battery Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of West Virginia Application February 16, 1940, Serial No. 319,298

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in battery filling wells, particularly filling wells constructed for use in conjunction with vent plugs and designed to prevent overfilling.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of means susceptible of direct actuation by the operator for moving a valve tube in which the vent plug is screwed, in the event that the tube sticks and fails to move in response to rotary movements of the plug.

Another object is the provision of means for enabling the operator or user to tell readily whether the valve tube is in the closed or open position, that is to say in the filling or in the normal running position.

Other objects and features of novelty will appear as I proceed with the description of that embodiment of the invention which, for the purposes of the present application, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a fragment of a storage battery showing a cell cover in which my invention is embodied, the vent plug being removed in order to more clearly illustrate the invention.

Fig. 2 is a iragmental View, largely in vertical section, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the valve tube in closed position.

Fig. 3 is a fragmental plan view of the cover with the valve tube and vent plug removed.

Fig. 4 is a fragmental sectional view taken substantially on the line 44 of Fig. 2 with the vent plug in place and with the valve tube turned to open or normal running position.

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the valve tube.

Figs. 6 and 7 are sectional views taken substantially on the line 6-1 of Fig. 5, showing the valve tube in the angular positions which correspond with open and closed positions respectively, that is in relation to the fixed sleeve portion of the filling well illustrated in Fig. 3.

In the drawing, l5 represents a storage battery box divided into a plurality of cells, only one of which is illustrated. Each cell is provided with a cell cover l6 of more or less conventional form. The cover however has a filling well which consists of afixed sleeve ll made integral with the cover proper and a valve tube |8 which fits the sleeve and is adapted to turn within it. The inner surface of sleeve ll may be slightly tapered to receive a correspondingly tapered outer surface of the tube l8, these tapered surfaces assisting in, effecting a satisfactory seal between the two elements during the filling operation. The tube l8 must extend downwardly preferably somewhat beyond the lower edge of the cover l6 and somewhat below the desired level of the electrolyte when the battery is filled.

In order to prevent the tube Hi from being displaced upwardly I-mount a small pin 20 in the tube after the latter has been assembled n the sleeve, this pin projecting outwardly beneath the lower edge of the sleeve in close engagement therewith. The upper part of the tube l8 comprises an enlargement 2| which projects above the cover boss 22 at the top of the sleeve IT. The enlargement 2| is internally threaded to receive a vent plug 23 which may be of more or less conventional form, including a baiile disk 24 which is of assistance in breaking up electrolyte bubbles carried by the gas which is given off by the electrolyte.

In the fixed sleeve there are a pair of air passages or openings 25 which preferably, although not necessarily, extend to the bottom of the sleeve. In the tube l8 there are ports 26 which are adapted to register with the openings 25 when the tube is turned to the proper angular position, indicated in Fig. 4. While a pair of openings 25 and a pair of ports 26 are disclosed herein, it should be understood that this is by way of illustration only as a single opening and a single port may be employed if desired or more than two openings with a like number of ports may be used if preferred.

The rotary movement of the tube l8 is limited by the following means: The boss 22 is provided with an arcuate rabbet 34 extending through a fairly considerable angle, as for instance an angle of the order of The enlargement 2| at the upper end of tube |8 rests partly upon the upper surface of boss 22 but is provided with a downwardly extending lip 35, about half as long as the rabbet 34, which fits into that rabbet. The ends of the rabbet act as stops for engagement with the ends of the lip 35.

On the top of the cover Hi there are molded two gauge marks 29 and 30, and on the enlargement 2| there is a gauge point or projection 3|. When the point 3| is in line with gauge mark 29 ports 26 and openings 25 are out of register, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, but when the tube is turned clockwise to the extent that point 3| stands opposite gauge mark 30 the ports 26 are in register with openings 25, as indicated in Fig. 4.

The invention functions as follows: When the battery user, or a service man at the instigation of the battery user, desires to renew the electrolyte by the addition of liquid, the vent plug 23 is unscrewed, that is it is turned in an anticlockwise direction so as to uncover the filling Well. Part of the unthreading force transmitted through the vent plu 23 is communicated to the tube l8, tending to turn that tube within the sleeve As soon as this movement of the tube brings it into the stop position illustrated in Figs. 1 and 7, further anti-clockwise efiort imparted to the vent plug results only in unscrewing that plug from the tube I 8. When the plug has been removed in this manner liquid may be poured into the cell, that is through the upper open end of the tube l8. As soon as the liquid level in the cell is thereby raised so as to meet the lower end of the tube i8 no further liquid will enter the cell proper, because of the entrapment of air therein, but the filling well will be rapidly filled with liquid, as indicated in Fig. 2, where the level in the well is indicated at 37. The user or service man then places the vent plug in position and screws it down. During this operation, or after the plug has been screwed down as far as it will go into the tube, the tube itself will be rotated clockwise from the position of Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 4. As soon as the ports 26 come into register with the openings 25 the air in the cell, being at a pressure slightly in excess of atmospheric pressure, due to the weight of the column of liquid in the well, will begin to bubble out through the ports 26, and the liquid above those ports will flow into the cell outside of the well. When the level within the well descends to the ports 26 atmospheric pressure will be attained within the cell outside of the well, and with the pressures thus equalized the height of liquid within and outside of the well will rapidly equalize at a level 33 only slightly h gher than the bottom edge of the tube I8. Gas is now free to vent through the openings 25, ports 26, interior of tube l8, and the restricted opening or openings through the usual ballle disk 24 The operation is semi-automatic, that is to say the unthreading of the vent plug places the valve tube in proper position for filling the cell, as shown in Fig. 2, and the threading of the vent plug back into place puts the tube into the position to vent gas from the cell. The gauge marks on the tube and cell cover are available for purposes of checking the action of the device and for enabling the operator to select the desired tube positions if it should be necessary to manipulate the tube directly. In the event that the battery should be unattended for a time, resulting in the collection of dirt and products of corrosion about the filling openings, such a condition may interpose resistance sufiicient to prevent the turning of the tube [8, causing it to remain in the position of Figs. 4 and 6 While the vent plug 23 is being unthreaded. If the well were to be filled with liquid under such conditions the safety feature of the present invention would be lost. This contingency is taken care of in my construction however because if the unscrewing of the plug fails to turn the valve tube the latter may be turned directly by the operator', for it projects above the cover suificiently to provide a good grip for the operators fingers.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an electric storage battery, a cell, a cell cover, a filling well comprising a fixed sleeve element extending downwardly from the cover and a threaded tube element rotatable in said sleeve element, said tube element projecting upwardly beyond said sleeve and beyond said cell cover, one of said elements extending downwardly to the desired liquid level, means carried by the sleeve and tube for limiting their relative angular movement, a threaded vent plug connected with the upper end of said tube, said sleeve having an opening therethrough below the cover and said tube having a port therethrough above the liquid level adapted to register with said opening when the tube is turned in one direction to the limit of its motion. and to be thrown out of register when the said tube is turned in the opposite direction to the limit of its motion, whereby when the vent plug is turned in the latter direction the tube is moved to the out of register position and the plug is unthreaded from the tube and whereby when the plug is replaced and screwed down the tube is turned to the registering position, and whereby the projecting portion of the tube may be grasped by the operator and turned in the event that the turning of the plug fails to move the tube.

2. In an electric storage battery, a cell, a cell cover, a filling well comprising a fixed sleeve element extending downwardly from the cover and a threaded tube element rotatable in said sleeve element, said tube element projecting up wardly beyond said sleeve and beyond said cell cover, one of said elements extending downwardly to the desired liquid level, means carried by the sleeve and tube for limiting their relative angular movement, a threaded vent plug connected with the upper end of said tube, said sleeve having an opening therethrough below the cover and said tube having a port therethrough above the liquid level adapted to register with said opening when the tube is turned in one direction to the limit of its motion, and to be thrown out of register when the said tube is turned in the opposite direction to the limit of its motion, whereby when the vent plug is turned in the latter direction the tube is moved to the out of register position and the plug is unthreaded from the tube and whereby when the plug is replaced and screwed down the tube is turned to the registering position, and whereby the projecting portion of the tube may be grasped by the operator and turned in the event that the turning of the plug fails to move the tube, and gauge marks on the tube and cell cover for indicating the correct angular settings of the tube for filling the cell and for normal operation of the battery.

3. In an electric storage battery, a cell, a cell cover, a filling well comprising a fixed sleeve element extending downwardly from the cover, and a threaded tube element rotatable in said sleeve element, said tube projecting upwardly beyond said sleeve and beyond said cell cover, means for preventing upward movement of the tube element, one of said elements extending downwardly to the desired liquid level, cooperating stops on the sleeve and tube element for limiting the angular movement of the tube, a threaded vent plug threadably connected with the upper end of said tube, said sleeve having an opening therethrough below the cover and said tube having a port therethrough above the liquid level adapted to register with said opening when the tube is turned in one direction up against one of said stops and to be thrown out of register when the said tube is turned in the opposite direction up against the other of said stops, whereby when the vent plug is turned in the latter direction the tube is moved to the out of register position and the plug is unthreaded from the tube, and whereby when the plug is replaced and screwed down the tube is turned to the registering position, and whereby the projecting portion of the tube may be grasped by the operator and turned in the event that the turning of the plug fails to move the tube.

HENRY W. LORMOR. 

